


the day the world sunk

by everayy



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: AU, Angst and Humor, Carry On Quarantine, Earthquakes, Eating Disorders, Economic injustice, Empathy, Eventual Fluff, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Healing, Healthy Relationships, Hospitalization, Hospitals, I don't even know anymore, Lesbian, Lesbian Character, Loss, Major Illness, Mental Health Issues, Minor Character(s), Minor Jo Haseul/Viian Wong | ViVi, Quarantine, Religion, Religious Conflict, Religious Fanaticism, Religious Guilt, Survival, Survival Horror, Thriller, Useless Lesbians, Wilderness Survival, a lot of tags, alternative universe, eat the rich
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-02-22 21:14:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23833822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everayy/pseuds/everayy
Summary: It was about midnight when the ground started to tremble. 8.7 on the Richter scale; it was a huge one. The Clinic of Ansan For The Less Fortunate endured only a few shakes before descending, bringing everything and everyone within those walls together, refusing to die alone. [...] A tale about unique people from unique backgrounds battling against a unique situation.
Relationships: Jo Haseul/Viian Wong | ViVi
Kudos: 6
Collections: Loonatheworld





	the day the world sunk

**Author's Note:**

> English isn't my first language, and even though I'm bilingual, mistakes on punctuation, phrase structure, and grammar are likely to occur. I may edit chapters in the future, though I'll warn you when it happens. Constructive criticism is always welcome! :) Stay safe!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: this chapter contains subtle sections about topics such as suicide and abortion. Edited 03/05/2020

"Welcome to GS25. How can I help you?."

Hyunjin muttered in the most unwelcoming way possible: she was done for the night. The phrase came out with far less craze than usual, not saying that the ordinary was much brighter, but at least she had the decency to be polite. Sometimes Hyunjin got overwhelmed, drowsy. Not because of the job; nonetheless - she worked at a convenience store for Christ's sake, not a lot of enemies besides monotony. Maybe she was done because her boss postponed her payment due to the company's financial vulnerability, or perhaps it was part of getting old. She would be twenty-three by the end of the year, and it was frightful to look at everyone around her. Past school colleagues engaging in universities, others getting married, her younger sister moving out while she was just there, unvarying, stuck between going to a shitty job, and coming back to a shitty home.

Home, that was another problem. She departed right after her sibling, not because she was secure enough to do so; it was just shame. Dread maneuvered her. That was why she left with no money nor plan. It was embarrassing being the older and most dependent daughter. Her parents never outright admitted, they were too caring for that, but she knew. She was a grown-ass adult, consuming their food, living under their roof, and usurping upon their hard work. Hell, even her younger sister had more composure. Yerim was smarter, friendlier, prosperous, and four fucking years younger.

They had a great relationship, though. Yerim was such a clever and empathetic girl, but Hyunjin just couldn't help feeling substandard when they were together. Yerim got it. She tried to control invitations to hang out, making them fewer and more distant to one another. But even then, Hyunjin came up with excuses. At this point, it didn't even matter; she would feel bad either way; guilt seemed to have some kind of devotion towards her. 

Hyunjin was slowly sliding into a place she wouldn't be able to come back from.

"Sup." Hyunjin greeted as a man entered through the front door, not bothering with an answer and going straight to the desserts section. He seemed distracted. He was the only customer at this point; after all, it was a Tuesday night, not the busiest of days. The dude lurked from shelf to shelf, going for a mix of booze with a lot of candy. Well, someone was planning on sad eating tonight.

He was incredibly focused on the whole foods-that-might-kill-you thing, but at least he was silent, Hyunjin wasn't on the mood for that kind of shit. "Almost there champ," a warning popped on her phone screen, it was settled to issue by the end of Hyunjin's shifts. She tended to get anxious when leaving. Even though staying in the store was objectionable, going home might just be worse. She could barely call it homely in the first place. It was a 120-square foot coffin home, a hard finding outside of Hong Kong, but she had just managed to outdo herself with this one. At least she only paid $200 a month, which Hyunjin could hardly handle it. The owner of the apartment was Ms. Mihye, and besides her faulty morals, she was a sweet old lady. The lot was shared with four other people, but they didn't tend to see each other very often, maybe it was for the best.

"Oh, oops! Sorry about that." A woman wandered in, knocking into the front shelves and dropping a shit load of cans. Great. The lady had blonde hair, clearly bleached, and messed up. The ponytail Hyunjin once assumed was tight, barely hold it together now. She had party clothes on, but they were just as bedraggled.

"It's.." Hyunjin overlooked the damage from behind the balcony. "It's okay."

"Thank goodness, thank god, goodness…" She stopped mid-sentence, losing train of thought and any depth perception whatsoever. Blondie stumbled between sections, didn't really looking for something but searching as if she was. Yet, things seemed to be going well, considering the conditions. The girl kept walking, the guy kept buying, and Hyunjin kept wishing they hurried up.

"Ma'am, are you drunk?" It was an incoming question. I mean, she definitely was, but it wouldn't hurt to listen to the woman's exposure. There were puddles of spit on the corners of her lips, and her eyes were red. "Do you need me to go get some water or…?"

"I'm FINE, Jesus." Hyunjin thought the lady was going to ask for the manager, but she wasn't that kind of blondie.

"Okay then… I'll be raping up in a bit, would you mind being a little faster?"

"Yeah, sure." The woman seemed cooperative for Hyunjin's surprise. The guy didn't look that into it, though. Not only he didn't bother glancing over he also didn't bother with a response. That's why she always hated getting the latest shifts; people tended to be assholes at night, more than usual. You're not going to a convenience store this late if everything is alright. 

"Hey, you could be more behaved, dipshit, answer the lady."

Oh boy.

"Oh, there's no need for…"

"Come on, talk to miss Hyunjin over here." Blondie checked the badge on the girl's chest. She had been doing this for almost a year now, but it still felt uncomfortable hearing strangers calling her name.

"Lady, please, be reasonable." She grabbed the client's arm before she could get any closer to the man. He just looked at them, going back to the groceries right after, not a single word spoken. But that wouldn't be enough for the woman, of course not.

"No, I wanna see what he has to say." And Blondie was out of reach going to buy a fight she didn't need to. "Hun? 'Cat got your tongue? Or you're just too fucking stubborn to be nice?" That was escalating fast. The lady's talk suddenly got sharper, but she still spat, and her movements were yet again exaggerated. 

"Miss!"

"I bet that's it. You want to go back home quickly, that's why you don't talk to anybody. But you don't have anyone waiting for you at home, no, you live alone because no one could bare your stink? You smell that, Hyunjin? It's just like pig essence. Do you sell that here? Maybe we could compare it just to make sure."

Then she pushed him. The sound of his buyings shaking in the cart resonated through the walls. 

"What the fuck do you want?" He turned slowly, seemingly unstable, he wasn't doing great before arriving here. Blondie stood there, probably coming to terms with the risks of her smart talk, but too groggy to act like it.

"Ma'am, I'm gonna ask you to leave." Hyunjin was behind her petrified, trying to pull the girl out of the front line.

The woman was acting brave, Hyunjin could give her that until he pulled a gun out of his back.

His hands were shaking, eyes red, but a distinct tone from Blondies. He could have been crying recently, but drugs were the worker's best guess. The lady still didn't seem to accept that the only possible outcome was her leaving with a bullet on the head. 

"Of course you have a gun" She brushed him off?

It didn't matter, anyway, because on the next second she was down. 

* * *

"Yeah, he was in all black, but I couldn't really see his hair."

"Sure. Any tattoos?"

"No, but I think he was wearing a blue cap under the hood."

"Okay. I'm going to talk with colleges nearby, see with we found something."

"Uh, his nose, it was… you know. I think he might have used something."

"Thanks, ma'am, make sure she rests."

"I'll"

The police officer had already left, but Hyunjin continued starring at the hallway, still remembering his grip on the trigger and remembering how scared it felt. But even then, she didn't act, and you could say she wasn't the assertive type. She couldn't make herself believe the woman hadn't got shot, the gun was out of bullets, but it still managed to knock her off her feet.

Her eye was swollen and completely sealed. They had the decency to put a bandage over it, but Hyunjin could've only imagined how much it hurt. She was still pretty, more so with her mouth shut, she didn't find the whole almost-getting-killed experience attractive and drunk people scared her. It'd always been like that. She used to see adults drinking, her parents. And even if it was just a bit, nothing hazardous, it made her feel uncomfortable. She confided that to Yerim when they were younger, and she had the same thoughts, they talked more about family back then, they talked more about most things.

"Hey," She woke up.

"How 'you doing?" Hyunjin seated on the companion's chair next to the dizzy girl.

"My head hurts."

She still hadn't grounded herself yet, Hyunjin doubted she remembered with clarity what had happened, it was only fair giving her time, she needed it.

"You the girl from the store?"

"In flesh and bone." There's a warmth to her smile, concern was palpable, as well as regret.

"I'm, you know, sorry."

"Yeah, I kinda figured it out. Modern Sherlock Holmes, you could say."

"Stop making me laugh; it hurts."

"Just thought you might need it." The grins slowly disappeared; there was no way the night would pass by without touching in rather delicate matters. Silence stood within the room for a moment, neither of them having the guts to move on. "Why were you drinking?"

"It was a bad day."

"I'm not a shrink, but I just don't think that's healthy…"

"It was just a bad day." The air got dense, they both seemed too afraid even to breathe, things seemed too clear considering they were standing in the mist.

"Try to get some rest, okay?" Hyunjin spoke first.

"You're not leaving?"

"You can call the guards to push me off, but I didn't intend to." It was nice seeing Blondie smile again, even if it had a melancholic tone behind it.

"Thanks, Hyunjin, I mean it."

"You remember it?!"

"Oh, no, just reread your shirt. Jungeun, by the way." Hyunjin scoffed, trying to suppress an incoming grin.

"Okay, Blondie, go to sleep, we can talk tomorrow."

Youkyung was trying to get an abortion last week. She was a sweet girl, caring, only one semester away from graduating in chemical engineering. They talked a lot, Jungeun wanted to make sure everything went well. The girl was so young, so pretty. She came to schedule the appointment and obviously to get reassured. She smiled, even though you could see the sadness behind it. The family disapproved of the procedure, her boyfriend left her because of it, but she didn't see herself as a mother, and the idea of being in labor was terrifying. They called Youkyung a slut when she walked in and worse things when she walked out.

Today Youkyung hung herself.

"Hyunjin?" She got grabbed by surprise. The store employee assumed Jungeun was already asleep and was almost drifting off herself.

"Yeah?"

"Nothing just wanted to make sure you were still he


End file.
